One of the goals of Brain Injury Awareness Month is to educate people about seriousness of brain injuries and head trauma. If you have ever heard the term “mild” brain injury, you might have thought that the effects can be less serious. However, that is far from true. The “mild” refers to the initial physical trauma that caused the injury and does not indicate the injury’s severity.
A person does not have to experience a loss of consciousness to suffer a mild brain injury. In addition, it can be easy for a doctor to misdiagnosis a mild brain injury because a CT scan or MRI rarely catches a mild brain injury. A mild brain injury damages the white matter in the brain. Damage to the white matter is not detectible with traditional diagnostic techniques.
Experts call mild brain injury an invisible injury. Some of its symptoms include:
· Headache or dizziness
· Vomiting
· Nausea with or without memory loss
· Lack of awareness of surroundings
· Poor concentration and attention
For people who suffer from a mild brain injury, there is no real time table for when they will get better. It can take weeks or several months before the symptoms resolve. Patients have to listen to their body and take things slowly. Giving yourself more time to complete tasks and listening to your body are the best ways to make it through a mild brain injury.
Harrell & Nowak, L.L.C. – New Orleans injury lawyers